Crushing machine



5 Sheets-Sheet l Sept. 5, 1939. .1. E. DICK GRUSHING MACHINE y OriginalFiled June 29, 1956 BY I A, M'. 7 'M' l TYJ.

Sept. 5, 1939. f. J. E. DICK 2,172,151

CRUSHLNG MACHINE original Filed June 29,1956 5 sheets-sheet 2 /N VEN To@d. ED/cn BY l 7//f T7145.

3 Sheets-Sheetl 3 a ATM/.5.

/NVENTo/a J D/CK Sept. 5, 1939. n J. E. DICK l CRUSHING MACHINE OriginalFiled Jilne 29, 1936 Patented Sept. 5, 1939 UNITED STATES price rranewcd December 23, 1938.

9 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in feed crushing machines and anobject of the invention is to provide a device of the character hereindescribed which is simple and rugged in construction and in which nodamage can result to the device in the event of a damaging obstructionbeing encountered during the process of grinding.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device of the characterherein described in which the feeding member therein will cease torotate when a damaging obstruction has been received within the machine.

A further object of my invention is to provide' a device of thecharacter herein described in which means are provided for regulatingthe amount of material admitted to the feed chamber.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device of the characterherein described, in association with which, an arcuate blade isprovided for the purpose of assisting in the conveyance of obstructivematerial into a compartment provided for this purpose.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device of the characterherein described in which foreign matter will be separated from the feedand may be removed from the machine.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device of the characterherein described which is simple to construct, economical to manufactureand will not easily become out of order.

With the above more important objects in view and such other minorobjects as may appear as the specification proceeds, my inventionconsists essentially in the arrangement and construction of parts all ashereinafter more particularly described, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 illustrates a vertical sectional view of my improved type of feedCrusher. 1

Fig. 2 shows a side view of the feed member used therein.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view taken on the line 3 3Figure 1.

Fig, 4 is a vertical sectional View of my feed Crusher taken on the line4 4 Figure 1.

Fig. 5 is a sectional elevational View taken on the line 5 5 Figure 3.

Fig. 6 illustrates a portion of the face of one of the grinding discsused in my invention.

Fig. '7 illustrates a fragmentary sectional view of a second embodimentof my device.

Fig. 8 is a vertical sectional View taken on the line 8 8 Figure 7.

In Canada June 29,

Fig.` 9 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 9 9 Figure "1.

Fig. 10 shows a horizontal sectional View of the thrust bearing andassociated mechanism as used in the second embodiment of my invention.

Fig. 11 is a sectional view taken on the line Il ll Figure 10.

In the drawings like characters of reference indicate correspondingparts in the diiferent iigures.

This invention consists of a feed chamber I having vertical front andrear walls 2 and 3 respectively, and downwardly converging side walls 4.Flanges 5 extend outwardly from the lower edges of the side Walls, andare reinforced by ribs 6.

Hingedly attached to kone of the flanges 5 is a longitudinally extendingtrap door 'i to which is attached a downwardly disposed arm 8, adjacentthe hinges 9. A tensile spring il! extends between the lower end of thearm 8 and the opposite ange 5 and tends to keep the door 'l normally ina closed position, as illustrated in Fig. 4 of the accompanyingdrawings.

Attached to the upper edges of the Wall which surrounds the feed memberis a hopper ll, the front wall i2 of which is vertically disposed,whereas the side and rear walls I3 diverge up- Wardly.

Extending horizontally from the lower edge of the rear end wall 3 is aplate ifi carrying an annular member l5 which is supported by a web I6.Within this member is inserted a self-aligning bearing l? held inposition by the oil duct I8 leading from the oil cup I9 and extendingthrough the member and into the bearing.

An orifice ZIJ is formed within the rear wall 3 of the feed chamber inalignment with the axis of the bearing i l and a second orice 2i ofsomewhat larger diameter than the orice 2i! is provided in the frontwall 2 in direct opposition to the first mentioned oriiice.

Protruding outwardly from the front wall 2 at an equal distance from thecentre of the orice 2| are a plurality of drilled bosses 22 which aredesigned to permit the rear portion 23 of the crushing chamber to beattached to the device. This portion of the. crushing chamber comprisesan encircling flange 25, to the inner edge of Which is attached anannular plate Z5 having a converging ring 2l integrally fastenedthereto, which is designed to fit snugly within the orifice 2i, a shortflange 28 extends centrally from the inner edge of the ring 21.

y Abutted against the edge of the rear portion of the crushing chamberand fastened thereto by bolts 29 is a closure 36 consisting of a flange3| similar to the ange 25 to which is attached a converging frustoconical portion 32 having a short cylinder 33 integrally fastened to,and extending forwardly from, the edge thereof. A narrow ring 34 isaixed to the forward end of the cylindrical portion 33 which, togetherwith said portion forms an annular chamber 35 therewithin. An outletspout 35 is provided in the side of the crushing chamber through whichcrushed material may pass.

Slidably mounted centrally within the ring 34 is a sleeve 36, the innerend of which, is provided with a ange 31. A compression spring 38 isplaced within the recess 35 and bears against the inner surface of thering 34 and the flange 31. It should be noted that by Virtue of themethod of mounting the sleeve 36 acts as a self-aligning bearing for ashaft presently to be described.

Inserted within the end of the sleeve 36 is a short cylinder 39 having atapped orifice 49 passing centrally therethrough. An oblique slot 4l isprovided within this cylinder and is adapted to engage with the innerend of a bolt 42 which passes through the wall of the sleeve 36. Uponthe outer end of the cylind'er is attached an arm or finger 43 by meansof which the cylinder may be rotated Within the limits of lthe slot 4l.

A threaded shank 44 is passed through the orifice 40 and the inner endthereof is provided with a thrust bearing 45. A hand wheel 46 isattached to the outer end of the shank for operating purposes. Alsomounted upon the shank is a locking nut 41 furnished with an arm 48 bymeans of which the nut may be made to bind against the outer surface ofthe cylinder 39 to hold the shank in any desired position.

Mounted within the bearing l1 and the sleeve 36 is a. central shaft 49one end of which bears against the thrust bearing 45. The opposite endof the shaft is provided with a belt pulley 59 by means of which powermay be supplied to the machine.

Attached to the shaft adjacent the bearing l1 is a sleeve 5I which ispermitted to slide longitudinally thereon by means of a Woodruff key 52which engages with a slot 53 on one side of the central orifice 54. Thisorice is enlarged as at 55, the outer end thereof being designed toreceive a portion of the bearing l1. A compression spring 56 isinterposed between the bearing and the shoulder 51 formed by thejunction of the orifices 54 and 55.

Attached to the forward portion of the sleeve 5l as an annular flange 58which is designed to close the orice 26 but to allow a slight tolerancebetween the edge thereof and the flange in order that the latter memberwill not touch the edge of the orifice while rotating.

Integrally attached to the forward end of the sleeve 5l is a convergingor frusto conical portion 59 which is undercut to provide a chamber 66.

Mounted on the shaft 49 within the crushing chamber is a circular plate6| which is mounted upon a hub 62. This hub, it will be noted, extendssomewhat rearwardly of the plate and converges toward the end thereof.This plate 6i is normally maintained in driving engagement with theshaft 94 and is locked against forward axial movements thereon by meansof the pin that is passed through the shaft and through the forward endof the hub 62. Mounted upon the face of the plate by means of bolts 63is a rotating grinding disc 64 which is provided on the grinding surfacewith a plurality of crossed furrows as shown in, Fig. 6. This platetapers toward the centre as clearly shown in Fig. l. Directly opposed tothe rotating disc is a second grinding disc 65 which is similar in everydetail to the first mentioned disc and securely attached by bolts 66 tothe inner surface of the casing of the grinding chamber 24.

The centrally converging surfaces of the two grinding discs, it will benoted, leave an encircling mouth between the discs through which thematerial to be ground may pass.

Extending between the hub 62 and the frusto conical portion 59 of thesleeve 5l is a forwardly diverging hollow feed member 61. This member isprovided with a spiral flange 68 extending from the rear end to thefront end thereof, this ange being gradually reduced with respect to thedistance between its crown and its root as it continues toward the frontend of the member.

At the forward enlarged end of the member two further flanges 69 and 16are provided so that at this end it will be noted, the anges are muchcloser together than at the rear reduced end of the sleeve.

The forwardly diverging hollow feed member 61 with its spiral flanges68, 69 and 10 forms a tapered hollow feed screw.

The forward end of this sleeve is designed to t snugly over the hub 62but may slide thereon under certain conditions to be later explained.The rear end of the hollow feed screw, however, is flared as at 1l andis complementarily formed with respect to the frusto conical portion 59upon the shaft driven sleeve 5|. The feed screw is made to rotate withthe sleeve and consequently the shaft, in accordance with the presentillustration,

by means including a pin 12 which passes through the flared portion 1iand the frusto conical portion 59 and the engaged conical surface of thesleeve 59 and the feed screw. This pin may be either made to t snuglywithin the recipient orifices cr it may be threadably attached thereinand it is designed when an obstruction enters the machine to shear off,thereby stopping rotation of the feed member and preventing furtherdamage to the machine.

It should be understood that the spring 56 maintains the feed memberdriving sleeve 5I, the hollow feed screw and the plate 6I under axialcompression therebetween and the pin that extends through the shaft andhub 62. Obviously this yielding compression exerted by the spring 56keeps the forward end of the hollow feed screw tightly pressed on to thehub 62 and the flared conical rear end 1I of the feed screw in tightfrictional engagement with `the conical portion 59 of the sleeve 5l.

' Encircling the enlarged end of the feed member 61 is a collar 13provided with an encircling shoulder 14 extending around the outerperiphery thereof, this shoulder being adapted to bear normally againstthe inner surface of the flange 28. It should be noted that the centralpassageway through the collar diverges in accordance with the divergenceof the feed member, and is adapted to have a somewhat greater radius atany point than that of the crown of the adjacent ribs which encircle thefeed member.

Preferably, and as illustrated in the drawings, the inside radius of thecollar at any point will be just sufficiently greater than that of thecorresponding maximum diameter portion of the scr-ew to provide freeWorking clearance.

The collar` 13 is normally held in the position illustrated in Fig. 1 bymeans of a spring clip 15 having a U-shaped configuration, the ends ofwhich are turned to pass through diametrally opposed orifices 'i9 withinthe ring 2l and to bear against the forward surface of the shoulder 14.

In the event, however,` of a damaging obstruction entering between thefeed screw and the collar, the pressure o-f this obstruction willdistend the'spring clip 'l5 and allow the collar to move forwardly toultimately bear against the surface of the plate El, thereby preventingthe passage of any further material between the grinding discs.

In order to adjust the quantity of material admitted to the feed chamberin a given time, a partition 'Il extends horizontally across the chamberabove the feed member 61. This partition is provided with an aperture'18 extending across the rear end thereof which is closed by a slidingdoor 19 mounted upon guides 8i! and 8l attached to the side walls 4.This door is actuated by a manually operated rod 82 which p-assesthrough an orice 83 in the door. In order that the door will remain inany set position, a spring leaf 84 is attached to the under side of theparti tion 11. The free end 85 of this leaf is turned and is designed tobear against the surface of the door 1 9 to prevent accidental shiftingthereof.

In Figs. 7 to 10, inclusive, I have illustrated details which may beused in conjunction with the machine already described if desired.

Fig. 7 shows a feed screw 86, shaft 81, grindn ing chamber 38 andgrinding plates 89 all identical. to those already described in thisapplication. However, instead of the side walls converging downwardlyfrom the feed hopper, they are dropped vertically as at 99 and arecurved beneath the feed screw in the manner shown most clearly .in Fig.9.

It should be noted that the left hand wall extends downwardly fartherthan the right hand wall at the rear of the device, the lower edge 9|thereof being joined to the edge of the right hand wall by a verticalstrip 92. This forms a longitudinally extending trough 93 which opensdownwardly into. a short channel bounded by walls 92 and 95 as clearlyillustrated in Fig.8 of .the accompanying drawings.

A discharge aperture 96 is provided in the bottom of the channel and isnormally kept closed by a trap door 91 maintained in position by anangulated spring leaf 98.

Hingedly mounted within the trough 93 and adjacent the side of thechannel 94 is a longitudinally extending arcuate blade 99 held in theupright position illustrated by means of a curved strap spring |99 whichis attached to the floor of the trough by a rivet IUE.

In Figs. 10 and 1l. I have illustrated a further method of attaching thethrust bearing 92. This consists of inserting into the sleeve I93 whichcorresponds to the sleeve 45 in the structure already described, abushing IEA having a pair of opposed lugs E95 extending diametrallytherefrom.Y The bushing is centrally tapped to receive a threaded shank$96 which carries the thrust bearing B92 on the inner end thereof.V'I'his bearing is designed to engage with the central shaft 91 in orderthat the shaft may move forwardly in the event of a damaging obstructionentering between the grinding plates. Bolts E98 are passed through thelugs 95 and also through corresponding ears |99 made integral with thesleeve l93. Nuts H9 are attached to the ends of the bolts andcompression springs` lll are inserted between the nuts and the ears M39and maintain the bushing normally in the vposition shown in Fig. 10. i

In order that the shank l may be maintained in any desired position alocking nut I l2 is mounted thereon and is provided with a shortprojecting finger H3 by means of which the nut may be adjusted.

Having described the structure of my device, the mode of operation willnow be presented.

The pulley 5i) is attached by means of a belt to a source of energy, andmaterial to be crushed is then dumped into the hopper ll. The door 19 isnow opened by the rod 82 and the material admitted to the feed chamberl. The feed screw is at this time rotating at a high rate of speed, andthe spiral angesv 68, 69, and 'l0 urge the matterial through the collar13 into the grinding chamber where it is flung between the plates bycentrifugal force. The substance is now `ground between the grindingdiscs and is then expelled therefrom after which it passes through theoutlet spout 35 attached to the side of the grinding casing.

In the event, however, of a damaging obstruction endeavouring to enterthrough the collar 13, this obstruction will bind between the collar andone of the spiral flanges and the collar will be urged forwardly to bearultimately against the rotating grinding plate in the manner alreadydescribed. The collar will now be rotated by the feed member and thefriction thereof will cause a considerable retarding force to the feedmember which, if not stopped, will shear off the pin 'l2 and thusdisconnect the feed member from the rotating mechanism. The larger endof the feed screw will at this time simply slide upon the hub 62.

In the case of a small obstruction which passing through the collar 13might damage the grinding plates, immediately it passes between theplates, the rotating disc moves outwardly against the pressure of thespring 38. In this manner, the distance between the discs is increasedand any damage thereto is prevented.

It should be noted that the space between the discs may be adjusted tosuit any conditions by changing the position of the thrust bearing bymeans of. the shank 44. The shank may be then locked in any location bythe nut 4l. If for any reason it is desired to suddenly increase thedistance between the grinding discs, it is necessary only to rotate thenger 43 which will move the cylinder 39 forwardly by virtue ofthe bolt42 and l the slot within the cylinder.

While the grinding operation is in progress, any heavier bitsy ofmaterial will fall into the chamber beneath the feed member and whensufficient material has accumulated there, the trap door may be openedand the material .eX- pelled. The arcuate blade 99 illustrated in Figs.'7, 8, and 9 has been found very effective in preventing idle churningof material below the feed member and the trap door 9'1 performs thesame function as the door 'l already described. It is important to notein connection with each of the several forms of the inventionillustrated that the feed screw and the feed screw passage to thecrushing chamber are located very materially above the bottom of thefeed chamber so that any heavy foreign substance which gravitates to alevel below the feed screw while in the feed chamber will become trappedin this lower portion of the feed chamber. This featureis important inspite of the fact that Vnovel means is to move into engagement withone'of said crushherein provided for preventing damage in case ingplates, said last mentioned means consisting of obstruction, since thepreventing of obstruction will greatly reduce the frequency ofinterruptions in service.

In this connection it is further important that the feed screw beextended substantially from front to rear end of the feed chamber andthat the inlet to the feed chamber be confined to the rear end portionthereof. With this constructio-n the material ultimately delivered tothe feed chamber outle-t passage to the crushing chamber willessentially be churned and agitated considerably during its longitudinalmovement between the inlet and outlet and this period of agitation willresult in the gravitation to a level below the feed screw and outletpassage of substantially all foreign substances having a specie gravitygreater than the material being ground. Hence, most or practically allforeign substances such as stones, nails and the like will becometrapped in the bottom of the feed chamber where they can do no harm toeither the feed or crushing mechanism.

The pressure releasing mechanism illustrated in Fig. 10 may, if desired,be used to replace the spring 38 at which time the sleeve 3% would befirmly held within the flange 34.

From the foregoing it will now be evident that I have provided aningenious type f crushing machine which, while being adapted to crushmaterial very efciently, is also provided with numerous safety means toprevent damage to the machine while in operation.

Since various modifications can be made in the above invention, and manyapparently widely diiferent embodiments of same made within the scope ofthe claims without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, it isintended that all matter contained in the accompanying specificationshall be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting senseand I desire only such limitations placed thereon as are specificallyexpressed in the accompanying claims.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. Improvements in crushing machines comprising a housing contained acrushing chamber and feed chamber, a feed member extending through saidfeed chamber and into said crushing chamber, means for preventing adamaging obstruction entering said feed chamber consisting of a movablecollar circumscribing said feed member, said collar being normally heldin positio-n by means of resilient means extending between said collarand said housing, means for causing the feed member to cease rotatingupon a damaging obstruction entering said feed chamber, a crushing plateattached to said housing and a further plate in` association with saidfeed member, all in association with said device.

2. Improvements in crushing machines comprising a housing enclosing afeed chamber and a crushing chamber, a shaft mounted upon selfaligningbearings extending through said feed chamber and said crushing chamber,a tapered sleeve mounted upon said shaft, a spiral flange extendingaround said sleeve, a member slidably keyed to said shaft, means forattaching said sleeve to said member, a crushing plate in associationwith said feed member, a further aligned crushing plate opposing saidfirst mentioned crushing plate, means for preventing the entrance of adamaging obstruction into said crushing chamber consisting of a collarencircling said sleeve, means for allowing said collar of a pinmaintained in engagement with said collar by resilient means and meansin association with said feed chamber for allowing the outlet of foreignmaterial from said feed chamber.

3. Improvements in crushing machines comprising the combination with amain casing including a feed chamber, a crushing chamber and crushingmeans within said chamber of a rotatable tapered feed member extendingthrough said casing from front to rear thereof, said member beingmounted upon a shaft extending through orifices upon the front and rearwalls of said casing, said member being provided with a spiral flangethereupon, a collar surrounding said member, normally contained withinthe diameter of said orifice upon said front wall of said casing, saidcollar co-acting with said feed members and releasing means forpermitting rotation of said collar upon the attempted passage of adamaging obstruction into said crushing chamber, said tapered feedelement being in the form of a hollow sleeve, the crown of said spiralflange tapering with but at a lesser rate than said sleeve, said collarbeing provided with a flared out inner periphery.

4. In a device of the kind described, a power driven shaft having aconcentric hub element thereon, a sleeve axially slidable on the shaftin axially spaced relation to said hub element and being in rotarydriving engagement with said shaft, said sleeve carrying an externalconical clutch surface that converges in the direction of said hubelement, a hollow feed screw telescopically applied on said shaftintermediate said sleeve and hub element with one end telescopicallyapplied over said hub, said feed screw at its other end being providedwith an internal conical clutch surf-ace adapted to receive andcooperate with the conical clutch surface of said sleeve, means lockingthe hub element and feed screw against axial movement in a directionaway from the sleeve element, and yielding means maintaining the sleeveunder pressure to move in the direction of the feed screw.

5. In a device of the kind described, a power driven shaft, a rotarygrinding disc mounted on and anchored to the shaft, a fixed grindingdisc for cooperation with said rotary grinding disc, said grinding dischaving a cylindrical hub portion, a hollow feed screw telescopicallyapplied over the shaft with one end telescopically fitting over saidhub, said screw being formed at its other end to afford an internalconical clutch surface surrounding the shaft, a sleeve axially slidableon the shaft and in driving engagement therewith and formed with anexternal conical clutch surface for cooperation with the internal clutchsurface of the screw, and yielding means urging the sleeve in thedirection of the feed screw so as to maintain the feed screw axiallycentered on and in driving engagement with the shaft through saidsleeve.

6. In a device of the kind described, a power driven shaft having a hubportion concentrically mounted thereon and anchored against axialmovements in respect thereto, a hollow feed screw telescopically appliedover said shaft and having one end seated against said hub element, anannular friction clutch element carried by the other end portion of saidhollow feed screw, a cooperating annular friction clutch element axiallyslidably mounted on said shaft and engagi'ng said rst named fri'cti'onclutch element, means providing positive rotary driving engagementbetween the shaft and the second named axially slidable friction clutchelement and yielding means urging said axially slidable friction clutchelement into engagement with its cooperating friction clutch element onthe said screw.

'1. In a device of the kind described, a feed chamber, a crushingchamber adjacent one end of the feed chamber and opening throu-gh apassage located intermediate the top and bottom of the feed chamber, apower driven shaft extending longitudinally through the feed chamberan-d crushing chamber and being co-axial with said passage, journalbearings for said shaft located outward of the crushing chamber and feedchamber, a rotary grinding disc having a mount hub anchored on saidshaft within the crushing chamber, a cooperating stationary grindingdisc located in the feed chamber, said rotary grinding disc having ananchoring hub therefrom projecting in the direction of the feed chamber,a hollow feed screw applied over said shaft within the feed chamber andprojecting throu-gh said passage and mounted on said hub, a sleeveaxially slidably mounted on the power driven shaft beyond the other endof said feedscrew, -means for positively driving said axially slidablesleeve from said shaft, the adjacent ends of said hollow feed screw andsleeve being provided with cooperating friction clutch surfaces, andyielding means urging said sleeve in the direction of said hollow feedscrew.

8. In a device of the kind described, a power driven shaft, a rotarygrinding disc mounted on and anchored to the shaft, a fixed grindingdisc for cooperation with said rotary grinding disc, said grinding dischaving a cylindrical hub portion, a hollow feed screw telescopicallyapplied over the shaft with one end telescopically fitting over saidhub, said screw being formed at its other end to afford a conical clutchsurface surrounding the shaft, a sleeve axially slidable on the shaftand in driving engagement therewith and formed with a conical clutchsurface for cooperation with the clutch surface of the screw, andyielding means urging the sleeve in the direction of the feed screw soasv to maintain the feed screw axially centered on and in drivingengagement with the shaft through said sleeve.

9. The structure defined in claim 7 in which said cooperating clutchsurfaces are conical and 25 one thereof works within the other thereof.

JOI-IN E. DICK.

